Caribbean fusion finds a home in Mississauga

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — In search of a better life, the Peart family immigrated to Canada from Jamaica. Ironically, it was a craving for the flavours of their homeland that has delivered an improved quality of life.  

In 2013, siblings Andrea, Daniel and Janel Peart landed in Canada and settled in Mississauga, Ont. 

“We didn’t come here with the intention of opening the restaurant,” Andrea said. “But once we got here, we craved our own food.”

In Jamaica, Daniel had completed culinary school. His education, combined with his sisters’ love of Caribbean cuisine, helped them decide to take a chance and open their own restaurant. They found a suitable space on Britannia Road, and opened Reggae Fusion in 2015. 

“When we opened up, this was all new to us: a new business, a new country, new everything,” Peart said. “We weren’t sure about the reaction of the customers.”

---

RELATED: The next step for Frankie Fettuccine

---

For their first day in business, Andrea prepared the soup, Janel made the porridge and Daniel cooked the main dishes. 

“A customer came in and had the soup. She said ‘it was to die for’,” Andrea said. 

“It boosted our confidence. From that day on, it was straight uphill for us.” 

With three siblings running one successful restaurant, the Pearts decided they had the resources to expand their concept, and opened a second Reggae Fusion at Winston Churchill and Dundas Street West in late March. 

Both restaurants follow a fast casual format, but the new Reggae Fusion is geared more towards dining in than take out orders. 

The 28-seat location on Britannia Road is located in an industrial area, leading to a strong lunch crowd.

While the new 35-seat location isn’t much larger, the residential demographic and a larger kitchen allows the Pearts to expand their menu. Reggae Fusion is now serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as catering. 

“We’re trying to get people to try more than jerk chicken,” Andrea said. “We have taste tests in the restaurant. We’ll give them a bit of oxtail to taste and a bit of curried goat to taste. Then we can expose them to things apart from jerk chicken.”

Their approach is working. While jerk chicken orders once dominated the kitchen pass, oxtail and curried goat are now holding their own in terms of order volume. 

As well Daniel is fusing Caribbean flavours with cuisine that is more familiar to the neighbourhood. 

“My brother is really versatile in his cooking,” Andrea said. “We’re pulling all different cultures into our food.”

For breakfast, the menu includes an ackee and saltfish omelette, as well as Jamaican classics like kidney stew and porridge. Later in the day, the menu includes an ackee and saltfish stir-fry, oxtail burger, oxtail poutine and pizzas topped with ackee, jerk chicken or jerk rabbit.

“We know there are quite a few Caribbean restaurants here in Canada,” Andrea said. “We’re trying to tap into Daniel’s skills and make it unique. That’s our competitive advantage.”

When the Winston Churchill location is stable, Andrea explained they will begin planning to open a third restaurant. 

“Our ultimate goal is to have a Caribbean fine dining restaurant,” she said, noting her brother has enrolled at Humber College to expand his culinary skills.